Start out posting with a miss

ANF Hunter

New member
Hey everyone, after scouring this site for months i figured it was time to add some material of my own.... Been coyote hunting for a few years, but started really putting some time into it over the past 6 months. Went out last night just before dark to my girlfriends family farm, small operation, just a couple of decent size hay fields and a little sweet corn. Set up along the western edge of a long north/south running field that sloped down to the east with the outside corner of an adjacent lot of big timber about a hundred yards in front of me on my left. Figured something would come out of the timber and take the edge of the field towards me. Wind was from the north and was ideal. Noticed a couple nice bucks toward the northwest back of the field, which is basically at the top of a small hill with a small amount of field defiladed by the crest of the hill. Set up the foxpro about 50 yards in front of me in the field and sat down in some high weeds along the edge. I hadn't even started the call and i noticed something up where the deer were at that caught my eye. The deer were gone, and after a closer look, coyote! Mousing around about 300 yards from me. Tried the foxpro and much to my dismay, it wouldn't work(i think the remote battery was low and couldn't span the distance because i usually have no problems with it.) The coyote moved out of sight, and i went to the backpack for a hand call. I'm by no means an expert with any kind of hand call, but have been gaining confidence and even managed to call in a black bear a month or so back. 20 seconds of low volume quaker boy cottontail distress had no affect, so after about 3-5 minutes i went with some high pitch squeals with an el-cheapo plastic bite reed call and there it was again. it moved my way to a carefully estimated 200 yards, and then wouldn't budge. He sat there facing me, and i did my best generic small dying animal, and it was a stalemate. After about 5 minutes i decided with the failing light to take a shot with the 223. Not the best rest, and i called my shot to the left when the trigger broke on the american predator. It bolted straight into the woods, and i ki-yi'd a bit with a diaphragm call, but that was the end of the action. Checked for any evidence of a hit, walked the inside edge of the treeline just as it was getting dark, but no coyote. A clean miss at 200 yards is tough to swallow, but better than a poor hit i suppose. I just made some shooting sticks this morning (the benefits of wood shop employment).... Even with the miss, still a great night as this was the 5th elusive PA coyote i've called in this year. Managed to get 3 of those 5, including a red light double with a buddy of mine. I've been hunting for 20 years now, and can count the number of coyotes i have seen outside of specifically hunting them on one hand. They're as sneaky and paranoid as everyone says they are, but with the right stand setup and careful attention to wind direction and terrain they can be fooled. For now it's back to the range for a few hundred rounds off the new sticks to get some of that hard earned confidence back
 
Welcome ANF, your eastern yotes are as stubborn as ours, in Georgia!
Spent a short stint north of Pittsburgh, was too busy with work for hunt'n back then..
 
I have been calling for over 40 years and still miss on a regular basis.
I have an old FX-5 and for what ever reason the remote will lose the caller and I have to turn off the caller and then back on to get it back in communication with the remote, new batteries in each.
ANYWAY

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Welcome ANF Hunter, good story. I can't say how many times I have got to a good spot and setup only to find out I have a dead battery or worst forgot to turn my call on before walking back and getting setup!
 
great story, I also made my own shooting sticks, they are very important, also shooting your rifle at 200,and 250yds so you know exactly where it's hitting out there, great confidence builder. a range finder is also quite important. good luck to ya. also and I know you can't bring a spare everything but I carry a charged battery pack for the remote and call, as I've put the call in my pack still turned on and then found it dead next time I go. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr what a bummer
don
 
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